Consumers this holiday season are likely charged different prices for the same product without even knowing it by companies surveilling them, warned Consumer Watchdog in a new report released today.
The report, “Surveillance Price Gouging,” highlights known examples of the controversial practice known as surveillance pricing and provides a legislative framework for stopping it.
Read it here. (opens in new tab)
Corporations use surveillance to charge individualized prices based on a person’s data and assumptions on their eagerness to pay for an item, in effect weaponizing their own data against them, said the nonprofit. This practice, which generally occurs in the e-commerce space and is not based on market forces such as supply and demand, is a way for companies to maximize profits, said the nonprofit.
